Posted by:    Scott Cooper

My Representative, Congressman Jeff Duncan, wanted to join tomorrow’s discussions at the South Carolina National Security Summit, but had a schedule conflict.  We had hoped for him to introduce the panel on which my dad will be joining Drs. Peter Pry and George Baker to discuss the existential threats to the electric power grid and what South Carolinians can do to help the nation counter these threats. He wrote a very supportive letter to the conference participants—click here.

As a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Caucus, Rep. Duncan hopes to bring more attention to this very serious issue and to improve grid security, including co-sponsoring legislation to provide hardware solutions to protect the grid against EMP. As he observed, “It is vital to our national security that the United States homeland does not remain vulnerable to an EMP attack.”  

I hope you will join us for the entire conference, and especially this panel on threats to the electric grid to learn what you can do, right here in South Carolina, to help us assure the viability of the nation’s electric grid in spite of existential threats to all Americans. These threats are posed by physical, cyber and EMP attacks as well as a natural solar event that will surely occur—only the timing is uncertain. 

You owe it to your family and friends to learn all you can about how you can help.  Come for the full day—9AM to 5PM at Brookland Baptist Church, 1066 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia, SC 29169.  Click here for the full agenda, and click here for participant biographies.  Be sure to register, as seats are limited.  Doors open at 8 AM

We hope to see you on Saturday!